Rob Tillett has been an astrologer for more than three decades.In previous incarnations a poet, musician, magician, healer, dramatist & composer, he is the editor and publisher of Astrology on the Web and has written many articles on this website.
Rob lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia.

The Moon Wobbledestructive cosmic phenomenon affects us all

The regular triggers for terrestrial disasters, whether natural (earthquakes; tidal waves; eruptions etc) or manmade (wars; terrorism; crashes, etc) seem to be the eclipses and the Moon Wobble. Rob Tillett, one of the founders of Astrology on the Web, explores the meaning of this major cosmic phenomenon. If you thought Mercury retrograde was a problem, compare the Moon Wobble!

In addition to the planets, asteroids, comets and moons that revolve in our solar system, astrology considers the effects of two "Shadow Planets" called the Moon's Nodes, the Dragon's Head and Tail. These nodes are not real rocks, like the Moon, Mars or Venus, but sensitive points that mark the movement by declination of the Moon from the southern celestial hemisphere to the northern (the North Node) and vice versa (the South Node), where the path of the Moon around the Earth sweeps across the ecliptic, intersecting the apparent path of the Sun. The nodes form an axis, so the South Node is always directly opposite the North Node in a stately cosmic quadrille. Nevertheless, the Moon's Nodes are vitally important in terms of the destinies of all who dwell on Planet Earth. See The Moon's Nodes for more on this.

I was originally prompted to write the first edition of this article because of the devastation wrought by the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province of China which killed thousands, the horrors of Cyclone Nargis in Burma (Myanmar) which slaughtered tens of thousands and left millions homeless, deadly tornados in the USA, bombings in the Middle East and so on. There were a number of astrological pointers, including the stations of Saturn and Jupiter, the two Great Chronocrators, with Neptune and Mercury about to turn retrograde, but the significant trigger might well have been the stressful square aspect of the Sun to the Moon's Nodes on May 13, 2008. This phenomenon is known as a Moon Wobble.

Rescuers at work in 2010 Haiti Earthquake

There have been further major disasters associated with Moon Wobbles already this year, 2010, as there are every year, including the widespread earthquakes and flooding associated with the Wobble before the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Capricorn on January 15, 2010, and of Saturn turning retrograde opposing retrograde Mars on Jan 13.

The most striking so far in the current cycle have been the horror weather in the US, Europe and Australia, a series of minor earthquakes, then a catastrophic quake which has shattered Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, in the Caribbean, on Jan 12. This occurred just one day after the peak of the Moon Wobble. It's significant that a Lunar Eclipse occurred on New Year's Eve exactly conjunct Haiti's natal Sun in the 11th degree of Capricorn. The Moon Wobble (the exact conjunction of the Sun with the North Node) occurred on Jan 11 in the 22nd degree of Cap. The Earthquake occurred the next day, with the Sun and Venus tightly conjunct the North Node, transiting Pluto exactly conjunct Haiti's natal Mars, and transiting Mars retrograde exactly conjunct Haiti's natal South Node. Interestingly, the earthquake Moon is exactly conjunct the Galactic Core, a profoundly potent cosmic location, again first discovered in the 1930's. It's notable that Haiti is currently undergoing a Saturn Return, with earthquake Saturn stationary about to turn retrograde (Jan 13) in tight conjunction with Haiti's natal Saturn. And to top it off, a Solar Eclipse will occur on Jan 15.

So the moon-wobble and the eclipse cycle is not the only weakening factor, as other aspects have to be considered. But when these aspects coalesce—and there is a Moon Wobble—you can bet that the trigger will be the moon-wobble. Geo-scientists did warn months before that Haiti was on an unstable fault-line, but had they paid attention to the eclipse and moon-wobble cycle, the people could have taken precautions.

Since that time there have been a number of heavy disasters, notably flooding with loss of life and massive dislocation in spots across the world, not all related to this phenomenon. However, as the next one approaches on July 4, the pace is hotting up. You can see the list of moon-wobble associated disasters for yourself in the table at the end of this article.

Carl Payne Tobey

Moon Wobbles were discovered in the 1930's, when research by astrologer Carl Payne Tobey (1902-1980), the original editor of Astrology Magazine, revealed that disasters occur in cycles associated with the conjunction (0°), opposition (180°) and square (90°) from the Sun to the Moon's Node. These powerful contacts occur when the Sun and the Node are in the same sign, or the opposing sign, or when the Sun is in a square aspect to the nodal axis.

Carl Payne Tobey

They are especially potent when the New Moon or Full Moon are square to the Nodes. On October 18, 2009, we saw the New Moon in Libra forming a partile square to the Nodes, emphasising the potency of the aspect, for the Sun and Moon are both precisely square the nodal axis at the New Moon.

As he discovered after a painstaking examination of a large number of major disasters, many of the most serious and traumatic catastrophes involving fire, bad weather and loss of life occur in association with eclipses, when the Sun and Moon are conjunct the Moon's Nodes, especially when other unfortunate planetary aspects coincide. However, not all of these evils are exclusively linked with eclipses, for many are associated with the Sun forming a T-square to the nodal axis, i.e. when the Sun is in a 90° aspect to the nodes.

Storm over Volcano in Iceland 2010 (Marco Fulle)

This he called a "Moon Wobble", because in fact it is when the Moon is "wobbling" in its path by declination. So when the Sun forms an aspect to the nodes of 0°, 90°, or 180°, we experience a significant likelihood of massive environmental damage with much loss of life and property.

These Moon Wobbles occur every 86.5 days on average, with an orb of approximately 5 degrees (days) on either side of the precise date, when the Sun forms either the T-square with the nodal axis, or the conjunction with the North or South Nodes. Tobey notes that when the Sun squares the Nodes, judgement is notoriously poor and unstable, especially for people under stress or in leadership positions. Some astrologers hold that the two weeks before the partile aspect are problematic, with the week following the aspect also being notable in terms of disasters, but my view is that we can allow 10 or more days on either side of the peak aspect, as shown in the table.

Moon Wobble Patterns

The Sun takes a year to complete one revolution of the Zodiac, usually making four or five contacts with the Lunar Nodes in the process. For example,
during the current Capricorn/Cancer nodal transit, which commenced in July/August 2009, the Sun in Libra reaches the Square aspect with the Nodes on at the New Moon of October 18, 2009, and again on September 30, 2010.

Sun/Node Alignments

When the Sun is in Libra on Oct 18, 2009, the New Moon makes a square (90°) aspect to the Nodes. This is a truly powerful aspect.

When the Sun is in Capricorn in January 2010, we will see the conjuction of Sun and North Node (an opposition to the South Node) on January 11, associated with a Solar Eclipse in Capricorn on Jan 15.

When the Sun is in Aries square to the Nodes on Apr 6, 2010, it precedes the New Moon on April 14, so will not be as strong as the Libra '09 alignment [or so I thought, but if we look at the effects, I was too optimistic!]

When the Sun is in Cancer, in July 2010, we will have a conjunction with the South Node (opposition to the North Node, as the nodes are always an axis) on July 4, associated with a Lunar Eclipse on June 26 and Solar Eclipse on July 11.

When the Sun is in Libra, in September 2010, it squares the nodes on September 30 associated with a New Moon on October 7.

When the Sun is in Capricorn, in December 2010 we see a conjunction with the North Node on December 24, associated with a Lunar Eclipse on Dec. 21.

The Lunar Nodes move through each sign of the Zodiac in a little over eighteen months, so for a Moon Wobble to occur in the same sign and configuration with the Nodes it takes around 19 years. Each Moon Wobble pattern is thus unique until repeated some 19 years later.

Man picks through debris of 2009 Samoa Tsunami

As Jim D'Amato points out, ancient astrologers associated the beginnings and ends of wars, major battles, mine explosions and animal stampedes with eclipses, both solar and lunar. These two types of eclipses generally happen about two weeks apart every six months and really make a notable splash once every two years. Tobey found that disasters happened about every three months; he correlated them as well to the geometric and mathematical square to the possible eclipse points, the Moon's Nodes. This is a clear indication of the stress and tension in the collective consciousness denoted by subliminal patterns marked by the interaction of the Sun and Moon when associated with the Moon's Nodes. Plato is reputed to have had the phrase "Let no-one enter who is ignorant of geometry" (ageômetrètos midèis eisitô) inscribed above the door to his Academy. This motto is more subtle than you might think!

During these Moon Wobble periods, time and space seem to be more unstable, almost as if the fabric of the heavens has somehow weakened. People die – sometimes in great numbers – through dramatic releases of energy, especially explosions, fires, mass murders, earthquakes, floods and transportation accidents. For this reason, it makes sense to keep track of the Moon Wobble phenomena and to note where they fall in your own chart.

Moon Wobble Periods

Even though Tobey gave it an orb of 5 degrees (days), the effects of the Moon Wobble tend to appear some 10 days before the partile (exact) configuration, the peak date, and cease pretty much around 10 days after the peak date, especially when associated with major planetary aspects involving the outer planets. That makes a sensitive period of up to 20 days, four or five times a year, regular as clockwork. I'd say this is due to the wide orb of the Sun (17°), which moves on average slightly over one degree per day through the zodiac.

Crushed Cars in 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

Needless to say, disasters are not the exclusive province of Moon Wobbles (the massive 8.8 Mg earthquake in Chile on Feb 28, 2010 was not associated with a moon-wobble, although it was with the potent Full Moon in Aquarius that has been the trigger for widespread major weather disasters during March 2010), but they are disaster-prone phases, especially when associated with problematic planetary aspects, or with major retrograde periods. These phases bring suppressed tensions to the surface, both in human beings and in natural scenarios, often with catastrophic results. The effects on individuals depends on where the aspect falls in their charts, but by and large these phases are warnings to be appropriately prepared and not to undertake major decisions, as reality is clouded during these periods. It's worth ordering a forecast from us that will explain the potential effects of the Moon Wobble phases for the year ahead on your own life.

Some notable example of disasters that occurred during the Moon Wobble phase will drive home the point. There is a very long list of them, far too many to list, although since October 2009 I have covered more, especially the manmade nasties, such as bombings and the like. Disasters occur not only in the lead up to malefic aspects around an eclipse or Moon wobble, but also as the affected degrees are subsequently activated. See Ian Thurnwald's detailed analysis of the aftermath of the massive Solar Eclipse in Aug 99 for examples of this.

The location of disasters indicated tends to follow the path of the preceding eclipse, as this has already been sensitised, the cosmic fabric having been weakened, so to speak (see, for example, the January 2009 eclipse and the July 2009 eclipse; more detail with links can be seen on our Eclipse pages). So given the vast sums involved in researching and predicting storms, earthquakes, tsunamis and the like, not to mention the horrendous costs of cleaning up, it might be worth the authorities investing in some astrological research and qualified staff. This would be worth much much more than the cost.

• Full Moon in Aries; Saturn sq nodes; Jupiter conj Uranus; Mercury sq Pluto; Venus conj Mars:
I have not had time to update this sequence yet. In any case, I'll be scaling it back to truly major events, as I think the point has been made. However, I notice that the University of Nevada in Reno has just gained a $12.2 MILLION dollar grant to expand its earthquake lab. Perhaps they could incorporate the Moon's Nodes into their calculations? Or send a couple of mill in this direction and I'll do it for them. :)

• Lunar Eclipse Dec 21

Dec 24

• Mars sq Saturn; Mars conj Pluto:

What is the point of this table? Astrology is not all about prediction. It is also about research: honing our knowledge so we can make predictions about the future with more accuracy. That's how science works. Astrology is a spiritual science, but it also can be applied to mundane events in the world. This type of tabulation gives us a clue to the application of aspects and planetary alignments, in order to warn of future social and environmental problems before they happen. Astrology combined with relevant scientific observations can be a very valuable pointer and locator of natural and manmade disasters. The word "disaster" indeed means "ill-starred" in its original sense.

NOTE: skeptical scientists usually deny any astrological effect, claiming that these conclusions are unscientific—the product of "random noise". See how Astrology differs from Astronomy. There is strong resistance in the scientific community to anything that smacks of astrology, "magical thinking", and (heavens!) the occult. This is what is known as a "paradigm clash". Well, funding is thin on the ground, and there is a lot of competition for it, but if astrological indications combined with scientific observations add strength to the forecasting process, we should not pooh-pooh the idea. Perhaps scientists should rethink their position. A pilot study is warranted, using skilled astrological practitioners; then we can find out just how useful it would be. Should the astrological indicators turn out neutral, then the weather bureaux can simply drop them, but should they turn out to give useful warnings well in advance (as this table suggests they would), this would be of immense value to society at large.